


the Little Armin

by NekoErenJaeger



Category: Disney Princesses, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shingeki no Kyojin Fusion, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, Based on a Tumblr Post, Curious Armin, Jearmin - Freeform, Jearmin oneshot, M/M, Oneshot, armin arlert as the little mermaid, armin's point of view, attack on titan - Freeform, dinglehopper, jean kirstein sailor, mermaid, merman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:56:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4338374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoErenJaeger/pseuds/NekoErenJaeger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin Arlert lives in Atlantis, but has always dreamed of living on the surface with the humans. But Armin's grandfather, King Triton, has forbidden Armin from ever returning from the surface after his parents were killed by fishermen. Armin is smart, kind, and shy, but that doesn't stop him from defying his grandfather. He loves him, but he knows there are much more important treasures to be found and sights to be seen outside Atlantis' walls. Armin vows to himself to never get close to a human, but, will things change when he meets a sailor named Jean Kirstein?</p>
            </blockquote>





	the Little Armin

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is a oneshot about Armin as a merman, and Jean as a sailor. It's just a oneshot, but if you guys like it, let me know and I'll continue it! More info at the end.

Armin hummed a soft tune as he sorted through his collection, his blonde hair swaying as the gentle current pushed it back and forth.

He had shelves, upon shelves of objects he had collected over the years, a collection originally started by his parents that had grown so much over the years. He knew that if they could see it now, they would be proud. But he knew that, unfortunately, was impossible. His parents died eleven years ago, when Armin was just five. They were killed by humans; fishermen. Murdered for their uniqueness, their curiosity, their innocence that was so easily taken advantage of when the men sent down awful harpoons and nets into the water. Many others had been killed in that incident. Armin hadn't seen it, but, it was what he had heard, at least. After that, his grandfather, King Triton, made it illegal to go to the surface or have interaction of any kind with humans.

The blonde boy had heard long ago that his grandfather had fallen in love with a human girl, but, maybe that was just a myth.

Despite what had happened to his parents, Armin stayed curious and strong, never abandoning his love of the surface world. He knew that's what they would have wanted. But it was hard. Nobody else except his friends, Eren and Mikasa, understood why he was so enthralled with the world of the humans, their culture and ways, and especially their knowledge. If Armin's grandfather ever found out he had all of these human things and went to the surface frequently, he knew he would be locked up in his room for good. But that was a risk Armin was willing to take. He felt so trapped there, like he didn't belong.

Armin grabbed his bag, tying it around his shoulder. It would be getting dark soon, and he wanted to make a trip to the surface before nightfall. The blonde swam out of the small cave where he hid his treasures, only to be stopped by a voice.

"Armin?" Armin turned around at the sound of the voice, and it was his best friend, Eren. "Where are you going?"

"F-for a swim," Armin replied nervously.

"You're not going to the surface again, are you? You know we all agreed that we won't go up there without all three of us. Humans are dangerous, Armin, and we won't be able to go up to the surface alone until we figure out how to eradicate them."

"Eren, we've already talked about this. I don't want to eradicate humans. They're not so bad once you-"

"I love the surface just as much as you do, Armin, but people are bad," Eren argued, his green eyes glinting against the aqua of the water.

"Come with me, then. I just wanted to make a quick trip since the storm last night probably pushed some neat human things onto the beach," Armin explained, offering Eren his hand.

"I can't, Arm...I have to go to dinner. I'm sorry. Tomorrow, though," Eren promised.

"Yeah, tomorrow.." Armin sighed, watching Eren go. Once Eren was out of sight, Armin looked around. By tomorrow, the tide would've taken everything back out into the sea and buried it. Eren and Mikasa would never know if Armin made a quick trip. Twenty minutes, tops.

Armin began swimming up and South, towards the beach he liked. He swam along the surface, the top of his head barely breaking out of the water until the beach was in sight, and no one was around, so he brought his head completely out of the water. He took a deep breath of air, taking in the scent of the land around him and pushing his wet hair out of his face. The air was cool, nipping at his skin slightly in a refreshing way. The boy swam up to the rocky shore, carefully looking around the rocks and digging in the sand, his tail brushing against the sand as he swam in the shallow waters. He found a dinglehopper and some glass, nothing he didn't already have. Usually after a storm, there were a lot of good things washed up, but the sun was beginning to set, and he didn't want his grandfather to suspect he had been gone. About to retreat, he turned around, but gasped in surprise when he saw a face staring at him, a couple feet away and standing with his feet in the water.

"Y-you-you're a-" He spoke, his voice smooth like honey, and deep, unlike Armin's. His hair was ashy with an undercut, which went well with his long, but handsome face. He was dressed handsomely as well, in a white button up and brown trousers. Armin had never been this close to a human before, let alone have one speak to him, so he did the only thing he could think of. He dropped his bag and began swimming as fast as he could, back out towards the sea. "Hey! Wait! Come back!" The human called after him, but Armin kept swimming. "Come back! You dropped something!" The man called again, but his voice was getting more distant as Armin dove, beginning to swim down as well as away. He swam until he was halfway back to Atlantis before he stopped, gasping through his gills, clutching at his chest as his heart raced. He had never been so scared in his entire life. How could he be so careless to go up there without his friends to keep watch for humans?

He swam back to Atlantis as quickly as possible, and it wasn't until he got there that he realized he dropped his bag. "Crap..." He murmured. He had only found a few things, but it was his father's treasure bag, and he very much liked it. Armin bit his lip, holding back tears. How could he be so stupid? He didn't have much to remember his parents by, and the bag was the one way he could feel like his parents were at the surface with him. He swam inside the palace, swimming past his grandfather and a few servants.

"Armin? Where are you-" Armin didn't let his grandfather finish, only swimming up to his room, closing the door and locking it behind him. He laid down on his bed, hiding his face in his arms before letting out his sobs. He knew it was just a bag, but he couldn't help feeling lost and alone. Why couldn't they still be here, here with him and teach him all of the things that they knew? He missed his mother's hugs and kisses, and his father's playful wrestling, and how he always used to let Armin win. Armin sniffed, wiping his nose.

He needed to get that bag back.

He knew he could do it. It probably got caught on one of the rocks  when the tide tried to take it back out to sea. A bit of hope suddenly filled his chest, and that's when he decided that he would go tomorrow morning when everyone was asleep to retrieve his bag.

Armin only managed to sleep for a few hours, too distraught about what had happened to get a peaceful night's sleep, but when the sun rose, he got out of bed, not taking anything with him as he swam out his window, going quickly back towards the beach where he was last night.

It felt like forever with how long it took him to swim there, but he finally made it, peeking above the surface. There was no one in sight, and he would make sure it stayed that way this time. But his bag was nowhere to be seen, either. He had to get closer. He swam up to the rocks, peering around them and looking for any signs of his lost items, until he heard a crunch from a few feet away. On the surface, was the man. The same man from last night. Armin gasped, beginning to swim away. How could the same thing happen twice? Was this guy trying to catch him?

"Wait! Looking for something?" The man called after Armin, and something in Armin's head told him to keep swimming, but his heart told him to turn around. Figuratively, of course, since hearts can't process thoughts. Armin turned around momentarily, staring at the human. He was holding something up in his hands. Armin's bag. Armin's mouth fell open as he stared. That was his bag, and the human had the nerve to steal it! "I won't hurt you. I just thought you might want this. This is what you're looking for, right?" Armin nodded slowly. "Then here, come get it," The man said. He took a few steps forward into the water, then began using the rocks, climbing on them so he could get out deeper without getting wet, holding Armin's bag carefully as he did so. He stopped on the last rock, about 4 feet away from Armin, and Armin could feel himself shaking. Should he swim away?

"I won't hurt you. Here," the man spoke softy, holding out the bag. "I'll toss it if you don't want to get close to me," he offered, but Armin shook his head, slowly inching forward. What the hell was he doing? He had no clue. But something told him he would never get an opportunity like this again. he stopped when he was directly in front of the human, staring up at him with wide eyes. "It's alright. Here," he said, sticking his arm out further, giving Armin a lopsided, but appealing smile. Armin raised his hand up to grab the bag, and he was shaking so hard, he could barely control the movements of his hand. He slowly took the bag from the man, their fingers brushing as he did so, making Armin gasp and back away quickly, clutching his bag to his chest. He stared at the man for a few moments, his heart fluttering before he began to swim away again.

"H-hey! Wait! Really? You're gonna leave after I proved I'm totally cool?" The man asked, and Armin stopped. Would he ever get the chance to talk to a human again? Was this one really not going to hurt him? He turned back around slowly. "Alright, that's a step," the human laughed, and Armin felt heat rising to his cheeks. "Can you speak?" He asked, and Armin was too afraid to answer, so all that came out was some kind of weird squeak. "Do you have a name?" He asked, and Armin slowly nodded. "I'm Jean Kirschtein. And you are?" He asked, holding out his hand. What did he want him to do with his hand?

"A-Armin- Arl-lert-" Armin managed to stammer, and he swam forward a bit, staring at the man's hand, hesitating before placing his hand in the man's. Jean was his name, huh?  Why did Jean just want to hold hands? Jean closed his fingers around Armin's hand gently, then began shaking his arm, causing Armin's Arm to flop around like a piece of seaweed, and for Armin to make a weird hiccup mixed with a yelp. Jean released Armin's hand, and Armin pulled it back quickly.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Armin Arlert. I've never met a merperson before...I didn't...I didn't think they existed," he said, scratching the back of his head, his fingers running through his ashy hair.

"You-you um-I knew-about you-" Armin stammered, clearing his throat before trying again. "I know about humans, is what I..what I mean to say."

"Do you? Is that why you have a fork and some glass in your bag?" Jean chuckled, and Armin cocked his head, staring at Jean curiously.

"Y-you mean a dinglehopper?" He asked, taking out the dinglehopper, running it through his hair.

"No...That's not..You're not really supposed to, um.." Jean chuckled, and Armin could swear a pink tint came to Jean's face.

"You're not supposed to what? And you shouldn't have gone through my bag," said Armin, staring down. "It's not polite."

"I was just trying to figure out who it belonged to, exactly, and if there was some way I could return it to you," Jean explained, and Armin hugged the bag tighter to his chest as he put the dinglehopper away. "But I guess it worked out now that you have your bag, huh?" Armin nodded slowly.

"Thanks..I guess.." He wouldn't admit it, but he felt a lot of gratitude towards Jean for retrieving his bag.

"No problem...I just was curious about you, is all."

"I'm nothing to be curious about. You're the curious one," said Armin.

"Didn't you say you knew a lot about humans?" Jean asked, and Armin blushed.

"I..I suppose I did," Armin laughed a bit, his face turning even redder.

"Well, tell me what you know," said Jean, shifting so he was sitting on he rock, his toes in the water, and Armin stared at them curiously.

"W-well...I know you have..those," said Armin pointing at Jean's feet.

"I do. They're pretty handy. No pun intended," he laughed.

"What?" Armin asked, cocking his head, staring at Jean. He was an odd guy.

"I-it's...never mind," he said, shaking his head and looking at Armin. "Hey, Armin, want to see something cool?" He asked, pulling out a small box, and Armin nodded cautiously. Jean took a small wooden stick with a red bulb on the end, then closed the box. "You know what this does?" He asked, and Armin shook his head. "Watch." In the blink of an eye, he swept the stick across the box, and suddenly a dancing light erupted from the red bulb. Armin gasped, backing up slightly and staring at Jean with the little dancing light in his hand, his mouth gaping.

"It's alright, it's alright. You can get closer if you want," Jean offered. The light was orange and yellow, with little specks of blue in the middle, dancing back and forth with the wind. The red bulb was now black, and the stick was slowly beginning to turn black as well. Armin swam forward slightly, staring at it with wide eyes, leaning in so he could look at it closely.

"W-what is...What is it?" Armin asked quietly, lifting up his hand to touch it, but Jean quickly placed his hand over Armin's.

"The stick is called a match, and this is fire. Don't touch it," said Jean.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It'll just burn you, is all, and that would hurt. I'd feel bad if you got hurt," Jean explained, smiling at Armin. When the fire was getting too close to Jean's fingers, he threw the match in the water.

"Do it again," Armin demanded, and Jean laughed.

"Alrighty." He pulled out another fire stick, striking it against the box, making the colors erupt again and the flames dance in the wind. Armin gasped, mesmerized every time."Would you like to hold it?" He asked, and Armin nodded slowly. Jean took Armin's hand and made Armin's fingers pinch the bottom of the match. "Drop it if it gets too hot, okay?" Armin nodded, using his free hand to steady the one holding the tiny stick of fire, and he brought it closer to his face. He could feel heat coming from it. He let out a shaky breath, and suddenly the fire was gone.

"H-hey! It left!" Armin yelled, staring at the stick, expecting the fire to came back. "Wh-where did it go?" Armin asked, feeling guilty. Had he killed it? Jean's laughter broke him out of his guilt trance, and he looked up at Jean.

"It's alright, Armin, fire does that sometimes. It's not a big deal, but, that's enough fire for today. I've got to save my matches."

"Oh...Yeah, okay," Armin replied, staring at Jean fondly. "I should probably...Go back.." Armin said quietly.

"O-oh..So soon? Well, I guess we have been here for a while. Sorry to have been keeping you."

"No, no, it's okay. I liked it," Armin admitted.

"Will you be back here tomorrow?" Jean asked, a hint of hope in his voice.

"If you will be." Armin couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth, and he blushed.

"Then I'll see you here tomorrow. Same time, same place?" Jean asked, and Armin felt his heart beat a bit faster.

"Same time, same place," Armin replied, nodding, and Jean gave him that same lopsided smile. Jean got up and Armin watched him clumsily rock hop his way back to the shore, almost losing his balance a few times, making Armin giggle. He watched Jean's feet curiously as he moved. He wondered what it would be like to have feet. He watched Jean walk out of sight, then finally began swimming back.

Same time, same place.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a oneshot, but if you like it, please let me know in the comments, and maybe I'll continue it. I was thinking about doing a collection of SNK Disney oneshots, maybe? I have another fic on my account, and it's Eren x Levi, but it's not Disney. I'd appreciate if you checked that one out too, though. So please feel free to comment, I appreciate the feedback, and you can also message me on www.tumblr.com/addinavi or you can just search for my blog, Addinavi. I also have a side blog called Erens-Macaroni for RP and stuff so message me there if you'd like to roleplay, just pop in and put a little message in my ask! Also, I'm always there if anyone needs writing advice or even if you just want to talk. Bye! :3


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